Haier P5

From a phone maker you've never heard of comes a handset you've never seen before. China's Haier, a household name at home but an unknown overseas, pins its hopes of international glory on the diminutive shoulders of the P5--a phone modeled after a pen.

Running Wind
Some users may see China-made products as inferior in quality, but Haier is evidently out to convince us otherwise with the P5. The phone comes in a stylish black box that opens up like a jewelry case. Two Chinese characters are emblazoned on the top in smooth calligraphic strokes. Literally, they mean "running wind", but they translate phonetically to "pen phone". There's no disguising the inspiration behind the P5. This elongated handset is just 27mm in width, or 30 percent less than a typical phone. It's also significantly longer than usual, measuring about 130mm in length. At 66g, its one of the lightest phones we've seen, and is thus very pocket-friendly.

Although the mobile looks a tad plasticky, its build quality is surprisingly good. The silver-black color combo is unspectacular but safe.

Dilemma
Haier has taken some liberties with standard cell phone interfaces to accommodate the P5's radical shape. The pen phone display is to be read with the device handled horizontally. The slanted keys, however, have to be used vertically. This puts the P5 user in permanent conflict: How do I use this phone: Upright or across?

The dilemma occurs when typing SMS messages. The buttons of the P5 are thin but responsive, so they aren't a problem. What gives us a headache is that we need to input text with the keypad upright, but we can view the message only horizontally. Eventually we had to settle for using the P5 at an angle of 45 degrees, an imperfect compromise that gave us a slight distaste in SMS texting.

Outside of this hiccup, the P5 scores about average on usability. Its menu system resembles that of a Nokia phone, but its buttons are less than intuitive. For instance, on some other phones, pressing the "right" key brings the user deeper into the menu, while "left" moves the user out. The P5 has it the opposite. Thankfully, the phone comes with a concise 34-page manual that loads up on illustrations and charts. This makes it easier for the user to get acquainted with the Haier.

Laser Power
There are a few bells and whistles in the P5, notably the built-in laser pointer which should prove handy during meetings. At the same time, the Haier also sports a basic implementation of polyphony. Although the melodies lack much percussion sounds, they are sufficiently loud and sometimes even shrill. The collection of 35 ringing tones includes the folksy Haier anthem, while more can be downloaded.

The P5 is also capable of taking up to 15 minutes of voice notes. During our testing, the recording sounded surprisingly clear. There are even three games available on the phone, including the evergreen Tetris.

SAR Rating, Voice Quality And Battery Life
According to the manual, the P5 measures 0.988W/kg on Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) tests. Based on the recommendations of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), this is well below the limit of 2.0W/kg.

The mobile’s battery life is rather short by today's standards. This is a phone that requires daily charging. Its 520mAh Lithium-ion is built in, so you can't put in a spare even if you wanted to.

One good thing about the P5 is that voice calls aren't bad at all. The phone's voice quality was quite good, and we had no problems with signal strength even in areas of poor network coverage.

Conclusion
The P5 is currently going for S$498 with a two-year contract, or S$568 without a line. This is on the high side given the P5's bare feature set and lack of brand equity. Ultimately, it is likely to remain a niche product for those looking more for a conversation piece rather than a truly functional handset. The P5, without necessarily impressing us, makes a deep impression. For a newcomer like Haier, that's certainly satisfactory.